After a disappointing end to last season, the golf team will begin its 2002 campaign this weekend at the Bowdoin Invitational with an optimistic attitude.
The team lost few key players to graduation, and has regained its strongest player, who studied abroad last year.
"We're going to win NESCACs," said senior Dan Kramer. "We should be really solid from top to bottom."
The Jumbos ended last year at the NESCAC Championships tied for sixth with Hamilton College. The team's combined score was 653, 48 strokes behind first-place Williams.
"That was disappointing, a little bit," Kramer said. "But we really only lost one player, and we're getting several freshmen who are, on paper at least, really good."
Indeed, of the five players who participated in the NESCAC Championship weekend last year, only Erich Muhlanger, will not be back this year. The team lost three other players - Ben Eastwood, Mike Feldman, and Jon Japha - to graduation, but none were usual top five players.
Since the team did not carry a single freshman player last season, this year it will be heavy with older, experienced players.
One of the most important among them will be Senior Elliot Barr. Barr was the team's top golfer two years ago, but spent last year studying abroad in Spain. Barr's return to the team should provide a spark for the squad early on this year.
The other strong players include junior Brad Hawes and Kramer, who were part of a four-way tie for ninth place individually at the NESCAC's last year, earning them automatic All-NESCAC selections. Hawes shot rounds of 76 and 83 for a combined 159, while Kramer shot a 79 and 80, also combining for 159.
Joining Barr, Kramer and Hawes will be seniors Arun Lamba, Brian Tarmey, and Arvind Chary. Lamba and Tarmey both played in the NESCAC Championship. Lamba was named to the NESCAC All-Academic team last year, and was top finisher for the Jumbos at the New England Championships, with a score of 160, tying for 65th place out of 229 competitors.
Along with the seniors will be several returning juniors, some of who began playing for the team only last year. Juniors Dave Hendler, Andrew Weiss, and Nat Sager will return to the team this year, looking to edge their way into the top five.
Although there is some idea of what the team will look like this year, the squad is far from set. Tryouts for the team take place this week, and many freshmen and others will be vying for one of the few spots. Coach Bob Sheldon will likely try to carry fewer players this season, making the tryouts even more competitive.
The squad's top five will not be set until much later in the season, if they are ever set at all.
"It really changes a lot throughout the season," Kramer said. "There could be as many as two or three number one players."
He explained that last year, there was little consistency in who held the third, fourth and fifth spots. "This year I could be playing as low as four, where last year I was number two," Kramer said. "It just means we're that much better."
No matter how the team takes form, players seem to have put last year behind them, and are confident about upcoming season.
"It should be a really exciting season," Kramer said. "If you can get excited about golf, this is definitely a season to be excited about."
